


Jump Into the Fog

by AriaBlackmoor



Series: Stuff About Harpies [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Gender Bender, Gender-Neutral Characters, Harpies, Trans Female Character, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 05:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17401178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriaBlackmoor/pseuds/AriaBlackmoor
Summary: Adrift in a new world, a lost child makes a choice





	1. Chapter 1

“What should we do?”

“We should probably take them with us. A few days with us shouldn’t cause any change if managed.”

“I suppose. We can’t just let him die.”

 

* * *

 

 

My plane was nowhere to be found when I awoke. Nor did I seem to be in a hospital...In fact, this didn’t seem to be any modern building at all. There was a large hole in the ceiling, for one, and the walls of the building were made out of some sort of cloth and not any wood. In fact, I’d say it was more similar to a yurt than any other type of building. I also noticed I wasn’t laying on a bed. Instead, it was a large pile of straw. To the left of the bed was a smile pile of junk I vaguely recognized as debris from the plane.

“Oh! You’re awake!” A voice from the far side of the yurt called out, stepping into the light from the roof hole. They were like nothing I could have expected.

“W-what are you?” I said, sliding myself up in bed. My left leg twitched.

They made a songish sound with their throat. “Your elders never told you about harpies?”

I blinked. “Uh, harpies aren’t real, though. Or so I thought..?”

Their neck tilted up similar to how a bird’s wuld, “Wait. Where are you from? No one from around here would ever say we don’t exist.”

I frowned. “I’m from Hartswell, Kansas. Where are we?”

“Chaldeas’ Roost. I’ve never heard of this ‘Hartswell Kansas’. What language is that, anyways?”

“It’s English. Wait. W-what’s going on?” It was then that I noticed that whatever I was saying was definitely NOT english.

They tilted their head to the side. “English?”

I tried to respond back in my native tongue, but it made my brain hurt trying to translate—even my thoughts were in the language of these harpies. Eventually I gave up , “My native language’s tongue.”

They pursed their lips. “I see.”

Changing the topic, I asked, “How did I get here anyways?”

“A giant fireball set the sky ablaze, crashing into the forest below. When we investigated, we found a large metal boat, a large number of dead humans, and you.”

“Oh.” I said, unsure of how to feel. I shifted again, letting out an cry of pain when I tried to put pressure on my left leg.

“You better look under the blanket at your left leg,” the harpy said.

I was confused, but pulled up the blanket and got my second shock of the day.

From the knee down, my left leg was a bloody, mangled mess. It was obvious even to a layman that it’d be a miracle if I ever would walk again.

“Usually we could do something about it, but given you’re a human, it would only speed up the change.” The harpy said.

“What change?”

“Surely you know about that at least. The transformation.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. Humans don’t just transform where I’m from.”

“What are you talking about? Do you not have any of the imbued races where you came from?” They said. I just gave the harpy a puzzled look. They sighed and continued. “There’s something seriously wrong here. I’m going to go get a magi and they should know more than me.”

“Please do.” I said, glad to be given a moment to acclimate to everything for a few minutes.

 

* * *

 

 

A little while later, the harpy returned with another. The magi’s jet-black feathers contrast with the dusty, spotted brown of the one I met earlier. This harpy as well was wearing something resembling a cloak, and she had a chest, which seemed to mark her gender to me. Something that my benefactor didn’t seem to have—I couldn’t pin down anything that gendered them either way.

“Hello, child of man.” The magi said to me, keeping her distance from me.

“H-hello, miss..? magi?” I said, taken off-kilter by being called a child of man.

The magi gave me a soft smile. “My name is Salinas.”

With hesitation, I gave her my name.

“You seem unsure, child.” She replied.

I shook my head, hanging it towards the ground. “No, that’s my name.”

Salinas nodded. “As you say. Chara told me you don’t seem to know anything about us or even your biology.” I assumed Chara was the other harpy.

“Where I’m from, harpies don’t exist and humans don’t transform, yes.”

“That’s curious. The script on that giant boat didn’t match any on this continent as well.” Salinas said.

“We’re not in Europe then?” I asked.

“None of the continents of this world that I know of are named Europe, no.” She replied.

I looked up to her eyes, suddenly feeling even more lost. “Then...I’m not even from this world?”

She nodded. “That seems likely.”

A chill went through my spine. “T-then what do I do?”

Salinas took a small step further, then reached out her wing in what I could assume was a sympathetic gesture. “We can watch you til the end of the Yellow Moon, then Chara will deliver you to the nearest human settlement before the transformation can start.”

I nodded, still confused, “What is this transformation though?”

She pulled her wing back. “Thousands of years ago, there was a great plague among humanity. The gods, in their infinite wisdom, decided to solve the manner by binding the infecteds’ souls to animals—cats, dogs, snakes, birds, whatever was closest at hand. This neutralized that plague and saved the rest of humanity’s existence. However, what actually happened was it merely changed the nature of the plague—any human in presence of one of what they decided to call the imbued races will slowly turn into one themselves.”

My eyes widened, “So, if I stay here, I’ll start to turn into one of you.”

Salinas nodded, “Indeed. Our elders have decreed that only Chara and I attend to you for the exact reason of slowing down the transformation. By keeping our contact to a minimum, the transformation should be slow enough for you to recover before it starts to change you.”

 

* * *

 

I was alone not too long after. I didn’t know where to start. My life as I knew it was over. I was lost in another world somehow, unable to walk, relying on the benevolence of people who’s sheer presence could transform me. In the solitude, it finally overcame me and I began to weep.

I had never felt so alone. I mean, besides my infirm grandmother I was already alone, but this was somehow a deeper loneliness than I had ever experienced. I just...I mean……My emotions were too much of a mess.

I didn’t even notice Chara return.

“Are you okay?” They asked, startling me.

I looked up at them, surprised to see them getting within a few feet of my bed. I wiped my face, only managing to spread out the snot and tears across my face, and stammered over some words. But, Chara only looked at me with compassionate eyes.

“I know I’m not supposed to do this, but...do you need a hug?” They finally asked. I somehow managed to give an affirmation, which led them to kneel down next to me and wrap me up in their wings. It was softer than I imagined, and incredibly warm, and immediately I calmed down a little.

They didn’t say anything as I cried until far after dusk.

 

* * *

 

I awoke this time warmer and snugger than I had last. I opened my eyes to see Chara laying next to me in the straw.

I had been using their wings as a blanket.

Oh.

It was still the warmest feeling I had felt in a long time.

I shrugged off their wing, which woke them up. They looked at me, and immediately they jumped up and ran half across the yurt. 

“Chaldeas’ mercy, I messed up.” Chara said aloud.

I shook my head, “No, it’s fine…thank you.”

They looked at me, then took a few steps closer again. “Alright. Sometimes we all need a little affection, even if it might--” their face paled. “Oh.”

I blinked.

Chara used one of their talons to point at my right arm. On it was a fuzzy patch the size of a baseball.

“I should not have done that. I need to go find Salinas!” Chara said before flying off.

I brushed my hand against the fuzzy patch. It felt just like a bird’s down feathers. The meaning was not lost to me. Somehow, I didn’t feel scared or bad.

When Salinas and Chara returned, they stayed far away from me.

“We need to deliver you to the humans tomorrow now. You can still have a normal human life if we return you soon, I had hoped to let you heal more, but given the current circumstances...”

My heart sunk in spite of itself. The idea of leaving troubled me.

“What if I don’t want to leave?” I asked.

Salinas’ eye rose. “Well, since the transformation has already started you have very little time before the transformation begins to occur in full. It’d be tantamount to giving up on your human life.”

“R-right.” I looked down at my leg. It still hurt like a bitch, and likely always would.

“Of course, staying here would solve your leg problem...” Salinas added slyly.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She was smirking. “Didn’t Chara tell you? Medicine derived from harpy blood can heal even major wounds like that. Only, it would be a talon and not a leg anymore.”

“I see.” I said, deep in thought.   
  
Was I seriously considering that? Part of me asked myself. If I stayed human, maybe I could explore the world and find a way back to my world or something…

Yeah, it didn’t sound likely, especially if I was a leg down. I didn’t even have anything at home really to go back to, thinking about it. My grandma would be alive a little longer, but besides that I was adrift in the world.

“In any case, we will see you tomorrow. Chara and I will be here to take you to the border town tomorrow.” They grabbed a few other of Chara’s belongings, then left again.

When I was alone, all I could do was long for someone to tell me everything was okay again.

And because of that, I had a feeling I had already made a life-altering choice.


	2. Chapter 2

Three harpies—two androgynous in white feathers that could be twins, and a more muscular brown-feathered harpy with a surprising mustache—were facing me down, swapping between looking at me and a document Salinas had brought them. Chara was pushing me in a primitive wheelchair while Salinas stood off to the side.

The mustached harpy looked at me, “Are you certain you want to do this? Why do you want to become a harpy anyways?”

I looked at my right arm—the down had grown to cover most of my upper arm and shoulder—then looked back at him. “I don’t have any specific reason. I just—I’m adrift in this world and everyone here has treated me so well so far...”

He humphed, but I got the impression he wasn’t judging me. “And has a donor of the harpy blood been procured?” He asked next.

Chara spoke up. “Yes. I, Chara, will be this child’s guardian.”

He humphed again, then looked to the two twin harpies. “Very well, I see nothing wrong here.” They nodded at him in response. Then, he smiled, “Then you’re good to go.”

I sighed happily, and Chara embraced me from the behind.

“Welcome to the flock, little one.” They whispered in my ear.

Salinas came over and joined the hug, offering her own comment of, “We’ll be seeing you again soon.”

Then, they stepped away. The twin harpies went with them, leaving me with the mustached one.

He stepped around and hooked his wings around the sides of my wheelchair and started pushing me down the hallway.

“I’m sorry for the rough introduction—what did you say your name was?” He said.

I told him my name again.

  
"Eh? That don’t fit at all.” He said, then added, “I’m Maurice.”

I was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Ya seem hesitant about it. Your name is a very important part of you, don’t you know. Ya gotta be proud of it.” He grinned.

I shrugged, “I didn’t choose it though. My parents did. I’ve never really been...I don’t know, attached to it.”

Maurice smirked, “How old are ya, lad?”

“Nineteen.”

“Ya should just change it then.” 

I didn’t say anything back. I’d never really thought about my name before. It was just something I used, not something I had any affection for.

I decided to change the subject. “Where are we going?”

“The nursery, although ya won’t be there more than overnight since you’re already fully-grown. It’s mostly to give some space so they can properly refine Chara’s blood and we can explain the process to you.”

“It’s not as simple as ‘drink blood, get healed’?” I asked.

“Nah, it’ll be hell for ya. Speaking from experience.” 

“Y-you were a human?” I stuttered out.

He nodded, “Mhmm, me and that Salinas girl. It’s easy to tell—only us human-born harpies have sex characteristics.”

“Oh! I was wondering about that...So I’m going to end up looking like you..?”

Weelll, not exactly like me obviously. Yer feather pattern will probably match that Chara’s, for one. Yer not gonna stop looking like a man though.”

For some reason, that didn’t make me feel any better. I’d was honestly kind of ugly as a person, I think, I definitely moved towards that bishounen look moreso than the manly man sort of thing, so the idea of being like I was still was kind of...disappointing in a way?

Maurice must have sensed my apprehension, because he rubbed my head with his wing. “Don’t worry ‘bout that, kid. You’ll find the transformation has a way of making you feel good about yourself.”

He eventually dropped me off in a large communal room. On the far side of the room, there were some young harpies playing with each other, testing out their flight and tossing a ball to each other with their talons.

“Don’t worry ‘bout them, they’ll leave ya alone.” Maurice said. The rest of the day was spent on him telling me about the small ins-and-outs of harpy society, albeit it was much too much for me to take in all at once.

When dusk began to come, Maurice looked at me with an uncharacteristic seriousness. “Well, ya ready for this tomorrow? Yer ‘bout to go through the full brunt of the transformation at one moment. I won’t lie to ya, it’s gonna hurt. And yer gonna feel a lotta new emotions you didn’t before.”

“What do you mean?”

Well, when blood is used this way, it creates an emotional link between ya and the donor. The exact form it takes changes—it could be familial, it could be romantic—but you’ll be getting much closer to that Chara in any case!”

I wasn’t expecting that, but it didn’t make me scared unlike other stuff that had happened today. “That’s fine I said. Chara has been really kind to me so far...” I still did hope it wasn’t a romantic link though. It’d be weird to turn into a harpy and immediately becomes someone else’s lover…

 

* * *

 

 

My chest felt funny when I woke up the next day. I looked down and nothing seemed out of place, but there was a tightness behind my breasts that seemed off.   
As I examined the rest of myself though, nothing had really changed besides the down extending slightly farther across my shoulder now. Soon, that would change though.

Right on time, Maurice showed up and shuffled me back into my wheelchair. “Well, ya ready for this, kid?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

He pushed me out to an adjacent building, inside was just a stone dias—the first stone thing I’d seen since coming here—and four other people. Chara, Salinas, and the twin harpies from before. One of them was carrying and bowl filled with a sloshing red liquid. It took one guess to know what it was.

Carefully, Maurice and the others helped me lay up on the dias. Then, they all looked down at me.

“You probably want to remove your garments.” One of the twin harpies said. I was still wearing my tattered clothing from the plane crash. I blushed, but managed to pull off my shorts and shirt with their help.

I felt very cold and exposed, now that I was naked on this altar. One thing I couldn’t wait for was my tail feathers to come in so I could hide my genitals, at the very least.

Suddenly, the bowl was pushed in front of my mouth. “Make sure to drink it all.” Someone said, I couldn’t tell who. I grabbed it, took a sip, surprised to see it didn’t taste completely horrible, then downed it.

I didn’t even manage to return the bowl before my insides began to boil. I shouted, then fell flat back onto the dias. Even my bones seemed to begin to crack and burn! I couldn’t handle it, but somehow I’d lost all control of my body—I tried to reach my arm out to claw my skin out, but it didn’t seem to respond. It hurt so much to the point I couldn’t even comprehend anything, and I blacked out.

It was midday when I next regained consciousness, my body still on fire and I could hear my bones actually cracking, but it seemed to settle a little. I tried to open my eyes, but at best I was able to tell another membrane was forming in my eyelid before me. I could tell there was a heavy weight on my chest too, although my wing-arm-things were too busy reshaping for me to figure out what it was at this moment. Then, there was a giant pain as something seemed to be pulling into my stomach, I tried to shout, and once again my senses seemed to fade away.

Someone was rubbing my head when I regained control of my senses again. I opened my eyes, noting my vision was impossibly perfect compared to before, to see that Chara was looking down on me, their wing brushing my new feathered hair. I was overcome with emotion and stretched my arm out to touch them, only to bonk them on the head with my new, much longer wing.

“Ow,” They said, before giggling. I looked away for a moment, examining my brand new wings—my feathers were Chara’s brown, but the tips were black like Salinas as well. I felt elated somehow, even if I was still learning to control them. “There’s one thing, though...” Chara followed up by saying.

“What’s that?” I asked, looking up at them. Then I gasped at my voice. Was that..? “What’s going on?” I said, my voice naturally more sing-songy than before. But that didn’t bother me as much as the fact my voice was much higher than it ever had been.

I looked down at my body, but I couldn’t see past my chest. It was...really big.

I looked back up at Chara, a little panicked. They just stroked my head again. “It’s okay, little one.” Even just those words calmed me down a little.

Someone else coughed. “You and I are going to spend a lot more time together than I thought.” They said, instantly recognizing it as Salinas.

I finally decided to pull myself up, albeit it took Chara’s help to get me in an upright position. Sure enough, once there I could immediately feel the weight of my new—my new breasts sagging down. One brush against my crotch immediately revealed that I had changed there too.

I instantly fell back into a lying position, but got back up in a moment. I looked at Chara, “No, seriously, what’s going on?”

They shrugged to their left, and I turned to see Maurice and the twins confiding. Eventually, Maurice looked over at me and stepped forward.

“Well, I told you that your transformation has a way of making you feel good about yourself, right? This isn’t the first time a gender change has happened.”

“Wait, are you saying that this is supposed to make me feel good about m--” I paused, taking a moment to think about it. “--Is there a mirror anywhere?”

Maurice nodded, and motioned for the twins to step aside. There, my image reflected back at me.

I was stunned by my beauty. From the top, my crest feathers laid in a fascimile of my old hair—straight and black—except they reached my shoulders now. One crest feather near the top popped up though like a cowlick and I could instantly tell it would be troublesome to get to stay down. My face was much softer in features than before, much more feminine than before. But, I could still tell it was my face, if that made any sense.

I was instantly aware of my nakedness when I looked further down my body. If I needed any more coaxing, my breasts were definitely there and real—much much larger than anyone else’s I had ever known. My wings came out from my shoulders, each reaching a little longer than half my body-length. At the end of each, they were tipped with three little talons that would be my tactile tools from now on. I maneuvered them and could tell they were much like my middle three fingers from before, except clawed. Following from my shoulders, I had soft down covering much of the sides of my body—notably leaving my chest and belly clear—before turning into a mess of tail feathers at my hips. I hadn’t seen any other harpies wear clothes on their lower half, and I could tell why. My tail feathers in particular went a fair distance behind me, giving me a bit of a skirt so to speak.

Finally, my legs had changed to actual talons—the skin more leathery there, and my feet having two claws at the front and one from behind, all of which that I had far more control over than I used to have.

I’d be lying if I thought I wasn’t nice looking. That’s when I noticed one thing I hadn’t before.

I was smiling.

It was probably the first time I ever smiled at my appearance. My chest actually felt tight, not because of my breasts, but a deeper, warmer feeling. Had I always wanted this?

Part of me could tell the answer was yes. It didn’t take much to make me think of all the confused feelings I used to have about girls, about how part of me had always wanted to know how it was to be one.

And it reminded me of deeper things. Things I wouldn’t dare tell anyone that I wanted or did.

And then I knew.

“You’re right, I feel much better.” I said, with a smirk on my face.

“Heeey! That’s the first time I’ve seen any confidence from you!” Maurice said.

I finally took an experimental step off the dias, only to almost lose my balance. It took a second and third attempt before I finally managed to stand up, and turn around. Chara and Salinas were both there.

Salinas said my name, but I stopped.

“That’s not me.” I told her.

“Oh?” She said, “I was wondering if you’d change your name.”

I nodded. “...I don’t know what to, though.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, my child.” Chara stepped in, hugging me. I finally managed to return their hug, and somewhere in me, something in my clicked into place.

This person was my guardian now.

Our hug went on for a minute, before Salinas coughed and broke us apart.

“I’m sure there will be much time to get to know your new family later on.” She said.

Maurice nodded, “Indeed. Keep it together.”

Chara rubbed my head one more time, then broke away from me.

One of the twins finally stepped in, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I do need a name for the records.”

I frowned, then looked at my guardian. “I don’t know any at the moment though.”

Chara was deep in thought, then said, “I can think of a name if you want some help.”

I looked at them, something in my pleased to hear that. “Yes, please.”

“The person who taught me all I know was named Karla. I would be honored to pass their name down to you.”

It instantly clicked, and I knew I couldn’t turn down my guardian’s suggestion. It—it was perfect, I could already tell.

I turned to the twin. “Karla it is.”

They had a pensive expression on their face though. I noticed that they were looking past me at Chara. “She will be missed. But, okay.” They turned to me again, “You are now Karla, daughter of Chara. Your name will be inscribed on the tree of tales.”

I had the biggest smile I’d ever gave on my face.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize in advance for the self-indulgence


End file.
